Flibbertigibbet
by sweeet-as-honey
Summary: Ethan gets a phone call from Cal to say Taylor has left him and the baby. He goes back to the on-call room to help. Set after mini-episode On Call.
1. Chapter 1

_I know I said I wouldn't start any stories till I'd finished some of the others, but this one only has two chapters. I just had to write something after Saturday's mini-episode. I have a few ideas for other baby stories too, but I'm sure they'll keep._

* * *

Ethan rocked the sobbing bundle in his arms and thought, not for the first time, about how quickly things had changed. One moment, Cal was making his first tentative steps back into dating. Now he was making his first tentative steps into fatherhood.

He'd always known Cal was a fast worker, but this was ridiculous.

The sounds of crying intensified and Ethan did his best to make comforting noises. "Sh. Sh. It's okay. It's going to be all right. I'm here and I'm going to look after you. We're a family now and you're going to be fine. We can make this work. Sh, don't cry!"

He didn't think he was getting anywhere with the soothing, but he would keep trying. It wasn't easy, though. Every fresh wail echoed in his heart and he was starting to feel quite tearful himself.

How could any mother abandon her baby? How could she even contemplate it?

And to leave Cal and break his heart for a _third_ time... this woman was too much.

Ethan was just wondering if he could get away with shedding a few tears when the other occupant of the bed woke up. Fresh howls filled the air.

 _Oh, brilliant_ , thought Ethan, but with more concern and despair than annoyance.

Cal lifted his wet face from Ethan's shoulder. "Is that the baby?"

"Yes: that's our baby," said Ethan, surprised by a surge of pride. "Why don't you give her a cuddle?" But Cal looked so overwhelmed, Ethan quickly changed his mind. "It's okay. I'll do it. Come on, Flibbertigibbet. Come to Uncle Ethan."

He let go of Cal and reached around him for the baby. He rocked her in his arms, much as he'd been doing to Cal, speaking softly. He kept half an eye on Cal, hoping he would make some attempt to interact with the child, but he was crying again. Ethan couldn't really blame him. Cal's life had been turned completely upside down and his heart had been ripped out again, just when it was finally starting to heal.

He didn't think he'd ever forget the pain and despair in Cal's voice when he'd phoned to tell Ethan that Taylor had gone.

Ethan checked the baby's nappy with a silent prayer that this inevitability could be put off for a little bit longer. He didn't know if Cal had changed any nappies when he'd been absent. Perhaps Taylor had done it. But now clearly wasn't the time to mention Taylor's name. Ethan held the baby more securely in one arm and gave Cal's arm a rub. "Cal, do you think you could check and see if there's any milk formula? She might be hungry."

Cal made no signs of hearing at first. He just looked despairingly at Ethan, more tears rolling down his cheeks. Ethan considered putting the baby into Cal's arms and going to look himself, but to his relief, Cal wiped his sleeve across his nose and climbed off the bed.

"That's right," said Ethan as Cal knelt in front of the baby carrier. Then he realised he might have sounded patronising. "I mean, thanks, Cal."

Cal climbed back onto the bed holding an opened packet of baby tissues, a baby bottle and a white plastic bottle with Cow & Gate written on it. Ethan couldn't help thinking that he knew who the cow was, but he decided not to say it out loud.

"Thanks," said Ethan gratefully, but as Cal held out the two bottles to him, he was filled with panic. "Are there instructions?"

Cal looked blankly at him.

"Never mind." Ethan laid the baby gently on his lap and took both bottles from Cal. He looked at the bottle and saw with relief that there were some instructions on the back. He read them as quickly as he could, mindful of the baby's distress. Ethan frowned slightly at the mention of sterilising but decided there wasn't much he could do about that now. He shook the bottle of milk and removed the tops from both bottles. Carefully, he poured some milk into the baby's bottle. Once he'd put the teat on, he offered bottle and baby to Cal. "Would you like to do it?"

Cal shook his head slightly and started crying again.

"You do know you will have to help, Cal?" said Ethan, his voice serious. "But it doesn't have to be now." It would make things a bit easier if it _was_ now, but Cal was in a state of shock about the baby and devastated about losing Taylor again. Ethan hadn't forgotten how shocked and broken he'd felt after losing Honey. He knew how much a broken heart could hurt.

But Ethan was determined that Cal would face up to his responsibilities and not make Ethan do everything. Ethan had continued to work despite his broken heart. Cal had to care for his baby despite his broken heart - and probably work as well, but that was another question that would have to wait until Cal was calmer.

Ethan settled the baby in his arm and held the bottle to her lips. "Come on, Flibbertigibbet. Come on. Lovely, delicious milk!"

The baby didn't seem to agree and carried on screaming. Ethan kept on trying to coax her to drink, trying not to feel sad at the complete lack of teasing and laughter from Cal, who would normally have been loving a moment like this. Finally, his niece calmed down a bit and deigned to put her lips around the teat and began to suck.

Ethan turned to give Cal a triumphant smile, but the bottle jerked out of his hand and sprayed Ethan in the face.

Cal gave a little sob that probably was partly a laugh and handed Ethan a tissue. Ethan laughed too as he wiped his face and guided the bottle back into the baby's mouth. It astonished him that such a tiny baby was able to pull the bottle out of his hand by pure suction power. He'd seen a few babies in the ED – he'd even assisted with deliveries – but holding his own baby (well, Cal's baby… well, _possibly_ Cal's baby) was different and incredible and miraculous and beyond anything he'd ever experienced. Ethan moved his head closer so he could see her better and discovered that the blurriness was partly caused by tears.

Cal shuffled closer to the baby. Slowly, he reached out a hand and touched the baby's cheek with his finger.

This surprised her and it was Cal's face that got squirted with milk this time, but Cal almost smiled as he wiped away a mixture of milk and tears.

"Why don't you try?" said Ethan gently.

Cal looked scared, but he didn't object as Ethan placed the baby in his arms.

"Okay?" said Ethan, and Cal nodded uncertainly. He put Cal's hand around the bottle and kept one of his own hands over Cal's. "You'll have to hold on tightly. You've seen how strong she is!"

"I know," said Cal. "I've done it before."

Ethan nodded and released his hold on Cal's hand. He watched as Cal supported the baby's head with one arm and held the bottle firmly with the other, realising Cal's earlier reluctance had been entirely due to his emotions. Ethan was so relieved. Although Cal had been showing interest in the baby when he'd left him and Taylor, he'd barely glanced at it since Ethan had arrived in response to his phone call.

Cal was crying again as he looked down at the baby. "She's so beautiful."

Ethan slipped his arm around Cal and looked at the baby too. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." His voice took on a cooing quality. "Aren't you, Flibbertigibbet?" His voice returned to normal. "And we're going to look after her and everything's going to be okay."

Cal nodded and relaxed slightly into Ethan's embrace, his eyes fixed on the baby.

The baby stopped feeding. "Is she all right?" said Cal anxiously.

"She's probably just had enough for now," said Ethan. "Have you had enough, Flibbertigibbet? That's fine. I'm sure Daddy will give you some more later."

Cal seemed satisfied with that. He put the bottle down and stroked the baby's face. She cooed and gurgled and made little grunting sounds. Cal laughed a little bit and touched the end of her nose.

Ethan gave his brother and niece a few minutes to bond, before coming to the unwelcome conclusion that he really needed to take advantage of Cal's relative calm and make a few plans for their future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tanith Panic** , thank you for your review. I'm glad you like the mix of tenderness and humour - I really liked the humour in the mini-episode so I really wanted to include it in my story too.

 **Teeloganroryflan** , to be honest, I haven't even heard of Carry One! Is it any good? Thank you for your review.

 **CBloom2** , I'm sure you're ideas are brilliant. I hope you will write the stories as I'd love to read them. Thank you for your review.

 **LittleBritishPerson** , I loved it when Ethan called the baby Flibbertigibbet too so I just had to include it in the story! The name actually doesn't suit her that well in terms of its actual meaning, but it's a lovely word! Thank you for your review.

 **Tato Potato** , thank you for your review - I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I thought Ethan would probably be a complete novice at feeling babies!

 **X-Sammii-X** , thank you so much for your review and for your kind words about my stories. I laughed when Ethan called her Flibbertigibbet too!

* * *

Even though Ethan knew that speaking to Cal about Taylor and the baby was absolutely necessary, it still gave him a pang to interrupt Cal, who was gazing at the baby as though he'd never seen anything so beautiful. "Cal, you've examined her, haven't you? What kind of condition is she in?"

"Perfect," said Cal, still staring down at her.

"I mean medically," said Ethan.

"So do I," said Cal. "I've been checking her over at regular intervals and everything seems fine. It's Taylor I'm worried about." His voice cracked.

"Yes, I know," said Ethan sympathetically, and put his arm around Cal again. "But we need to think about the baby now. I think we'd better take her downstairs so I can check her over properly. Then we need to go shopping. There are things we probably won't be able to buy till tomorrow like a cot-" (Ethan had to stop and take a calming breath as he thought about how much their lives were going to change) "-but we need to buy more formula and nappies. Then we need to go home. You're exhausted. Not that you'll be getting much sleep for the next two or three years!" Ethan smiled slightly and touched the baby's hand. She immediately caught Ethan's finger in her fist and gripped it with surprising strength. Ethan smiled down at her, completely forgetting what he was going to say.

Then Cal spoke, his voice incredulous. "What are you talking about, Ethan? We can't _leave_."

"We've got to," Ethan said as gently as he could.

"We can't!" said Cal. "Taylor might come back."

Ethan felt a pain where his heart was. Perhaps the tiniest echo of what Cal was feeling. "I don't think she'll be coming back here, Cal."

"She said she was going to turn herself in!" said Cal. "She told me."

Ethan stroked Cal's back. "Cal, perhaps for a while that was her genuine intention. But she obviously changed her mind. She's gone. All we can do now is our very best for the baby."

"But what if she comes back?" said Cal desperately. "She might. She loves her baby. I'm sure she does! She wants the best for her!"

"If Taylor comes back, she'll be able to find us," said Ethan. "She knows where we live and where we work. She might still have your phone number." Ethan didn't think it was likely she'd come back, but he didn't want to say that to Cal. His brother was in pieces already. "I'm sure Taylor wouldn't want us to stay here. We're not supposed to be here and we could be discovered. Then there will be questions about what we're doing here – especially with a baby."

Cal looked at Ethan through wet eyes. "Are we going to keep her a secret from everyone?"

"Of course not," said Ethan. "We'll concoct a version of the story that we can tell to other people. Something about your ex-girlfriend having a baby in prison and wanting her to grow up with her father rather than in care. We'll work out the details later. Let's just get her downstairs and give her a proper examination."

A tear fell down Cal's cheek. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Of course she will," said Ethan as he wiped the tear away. "She's got her daddy and her Uncle Ethan. She's got a family."

Cal sniffed. "I mean Taylor. She's not well, Ethan. She's just given birth. She's got an infection. She could die!"

"She's made her decision," said Ethan. "I know you love her, Cal. I can't imagine how upsetting this must be. And just when you were finally getting back on track too." Ethan's voice wobbled slightly. "But our first duty is to our baby. We need to make sure she's healthy and safe." Ethan glanced down at her and smiled. "And that reminds me, little Flibbertigibbet: you need a proper name. I think 'Flibbertigibbet' suits you very well, but your daddy's never going to be able to spell it."

"Possibly not," said Cal with a sad smile.

Ethan patted his shoulder, hoping it gave his brother some comfort. "We'll have to name her and register her ." He felt another jolt of panic at the thought.

"I… I thought maybe 'Taylor'," Cal said without looking at him.

Ethan tried to hide his horror. "We're not calling her Taylor, Caleb. You're her father and you should have the final say… but please don't call her Taylor. You just can't. I know you love Taylor, but our baby isn't going to be a mini-version of her mother. She's going to be more special and better in every way."

"Only because she's going to have a better start in life," said Cal tearfully. "If Taylor had had a family who loved her…"

"Then things could have been very different," agreed Ethan. "But all we can think of is how things are. I know her time with Taylor was very short, but this is still a new start for her. A new life. A happier life. I'm sure you can't really believe she would have had a good life with Taylor." He sighed. "I'm sorry if this upsets you, Cal, but I'm not sure Taylor cared as much for the baby as she did for herself. She could have left the baby with us and turned herself in. We could have taken the baby to visit her and then she could have had a life with her baby when she got out. But instead, she ran, knowing she might never see her baby again. Her freedom was more important to her than a relationship with her baby. That's the kind of woman she is, Cal. Even if she does regret what she did to you, she was still willing to do that to her child. I don't want my niece named after someone like her."

Cal was sobbing now, one hand over his face as the other continued to hold the baby. "You're right, Ethan. I know you're right. I know what she's like. She's shown me enough times. But I still love her."

"I know," said Ethan softly. "And I'm so sorry." He tried to take the baby from Cal but realised Cal was holding her securely, despite his emotion. He pulled Cal closer to him, though he was very careful not to squash the baby. "You'll get through this, though, Cal. You've got me and the baby. You know I'll do everything I can to support you both." He looked down at the baby and smiled. "She loves you, you know."

"She doesn't even know me," wept Cal.

"She does know you," said Ethan, and nodded towards the baby. "Look at her."

Cal looked down. Her eyes were closed. "Oh God, what's wrong with her?"

Ethan held back his laughter. "She's asleep, Cal. Because she feels safe with you."

Cal sniffled and wiped his hand across his eyes. "And I'll keep her safe." He looked down at the baby and spoke with passion. "I'm going to keep you safe, darling: okay? I'm your dad and I love you."


End file.
